Christmas Cocktail

I first drank this in a fashionable Soho bar and realized immediately that my mom would love it. I made it last Christmas for the family. Mom did love it. Dad drank far too much of it.–Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent

LC Seven Lords a Leaping Note

Seven lords a leaping? So the carol goes. But after partaking of this Christmas cheer, perhaps it would be more accurate to say seven lords a leaning. Before you start a leaping and a leaning for yourself, let’s reflect a moment on what exactly constitutes a Christmas cocktail, shall we? According to no one but ourselves, it seems any such libation ought to be seasonal in terms of its ingredients, and certainly splashy hues of citrus juice qualify. The tipple ought also be effervescently toe-tapping and perky rather than serenely yawn-inducing and sleepy, which rules out hot toddies and mulled wine and the like, no matter how lovely the latter may be. And it ought to have a captivating countenance, one of those dazzling numbers that turns heads and makes ordinarily predictable people unexpectedly cry out,”I’d like one of those, please!” Does this little tipple merit the moniker “Christmas cocktail?” We think so.